X4 - a tale of action and romance
by Littlecoop10
Summary: Ever thought about what happened after Alcatraz? X1, X2 and X3 have all happened and this is what comes after. This is a ROGAN story that will be a slow burn but will have great adventure and angst leading to passion and love. What happens when Logan finds out that Marie isn't the girl she used to be and he needs to man up and tell her his true feelings before an omen comes true.
1. Chapter 1

Hey all, this is my first fan fiction so I hope it goes well. This is a ROGAN story so if you don't like that, then do not read – also a bit of a slow burner but will give you ROGAN shippers some great angst action as well as passionate and tender moments between the characters.

This is set three years after X3. Everything has happened like in the movies but in this the Professor, Scott and Jean have been resurrected (will be explained) after Alcatraz. Gambit is also in this story but will not infringe on the happy couple. Also, Logan has found out about a little of his past.

**I do not own anything!**

Chapter 1 – On the road again

The roar of the motorcycle could be heard for miles. His impending visit being frowned upon by nature as the gaseous substance from the engine was the only clue that the old bike had seen better days and that it hadn't had a rest since its occupant decided to return home.

_Home_? Is that what it was? Logan couldn't quite decide whether he was looking forward to going back to the mansion after three years or whether he felt he should turn back now. Unlucky for him, he really didn't have a choice.

After the Professor had contacted him telepathically, he knew that he had to go back to the mansion – it was just those niggling memories that he'd rather left forgotten which caused him to doubt whether he should carry on up this road or take the next left at the upcoming intersection. However, Charles had told him that he was needed immediately but didn't divulge why he was needed and how it came about that Charles was actually alive.

So here he was, the infamous Wolverine, at the beck and call to a bunch of mutant kids and X-geeks.

Many people thought Logan had left the mansion because of the guilt of killing the woman he loved, that he was so traumatized he had to run. They were wrong.

Okay, Logan did leave because of the guilt but it wasn't because he killed the woman he loved, oh no, it was because he was glad it wasn't _her_. The her in this situation is the one woman who never once looked at him like he was anything but the kind and gentle man she thought he was.

She was the only one who asked whether his claws hurt when they come out, "every time" he had said. She was the only one who knew what it was like to be an outcast among outcasts – she was Marie.

Logan had spent the last three years trying to figure out why he was glad that Marie wasn't the one who was dead, that he was glad Jean died that day and Marie had no harm come to her. He had just about worked it out when Chuck had asked him to come home.

So here he was, on his motorcycle (the one he borrowed from Scott) finishing up the deliberations that were in his head about the girl who stowed away in his camper all those years ago. He was in love with her. He may have loved before – Jean, Mariko, Kayla etc – but he had never been _in_ love.

Not just the Logan in his head approved of Marie but so did the Wolverine. The Wolverine had liked to fuck around with these women that Logan felt a strong attraction to but Marie was the_ one, _the mate that every wolf longs for and craves to find_._ Wolverine was coming to get her.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey all thanks for the reviews, favourites and followings! It's great to know my work is pretty decent ;)

Chapter 2 – While you were gone

The laughter of children could be heard throughout the mansion. No worries or cares to any of the younger students whose innocence made it all harder for her to bear. She knew and they didn't – they didn't know about the threat that had made itself known to Charles through a premonition or that this omen could mean that everyone here would perhaps cease to exist in only mere months.

She was the only one Charles could tell. As she had accidently touched Charles when he first came back to life, Rogue was one of only three people in the mansion who had telepathic powers. Charles, herself and Jean all had the power to see future events and to exchange the knowledge between each other but due to Jeans mental state, Marie was the mutant that the Professor confided in.

When Jean, Scott and the Professor all came back to life it was a huge shock to everyone.

Storm had started to settle into a routine as she and Hank became the best double act anyone had ever seen around the school. They planned every timetable, created schedules for all of the junior (now senior) X-Men so that they could help out as well as bringing new cafeteria staff and groundskeepers so that the school could run with three members being permanently (or so everyone thought) gone.

So, when the three dead mutants just moseyed out of the garage and crashed the annual garden party, most people were momentarily stunned. Storm, Hank and the rest of the X-Men rushed over to give all three members a hug, forgetting about their guests and the fact that only a year and a half ago Jean had nearly killed the rest of them. This was when Marie accidently touched Charles and got his telepathic mutation.

Storm ushered everyone into her (Charles') office and asked them whether they could explain how they ended up being alive. Everyone stared at the three adults until finally the Professor spoke. "It's complicated."

He hesitated, looked around at Scott and Jean, and then carried on. "Well, Scott was never dead in the first place." Shocked gasps came from everyone. "When Jean was the phoenix it recognised Scott as Jean's soul mate and decided to be ... to ... how do I say it? Merciful. Yes, merciful. The phoenix created a vortex around Scott and lowered him into Alkali Lake which meant he was off of the Cerebro grid but he wasn't dead – just in a very deep sleep if you will."

"What about yourself and Jean?" Marie asked impatiently.

"Ahh, that's a bit more, complicated my dear. Oh, I see your powers have returned?" Inquired the Professor.

"Yes they have Charles, as have Eric's and everyone else's who took the blasted cure." She replied coldly. Charles noted that the girl before him was no longer the scared runaway but a woman that had been betrayed and heartbroken by the only man she had ever loved.

She was very much like Eric, the memories gave her eyes the look of a much older and wiser person but he knew that those memories did not mean she _was_ that older and wiser person. Her own difficulties and struggles had given her the opportunity to realise that life was mostly obstacles you have to face and confront so he knew not all that was seen in her features was from the nightmares from the memories he was sure she had every night. He knew the heartbreak was because of one man and one man only. Logan.

He knew she was pissy that Logan had left when everyone needed him, she wasn't pissed because he left her, she was pissed because he left everyone else. However, she had an air about her that screamed maturity and he knew that when Logan returned she wasn't going to run into his arms just because he was the man she loved. Logan had to earn her love and trust once again. Charles was proud of Rogue.

Although, he hadn't seen her in 2 years so he couldn't make his full judgment until he got to know her again. "Although, it means that I can use any power I have ever absorbed which is handy when you want to kill an enemy, isn't it?" Charles hadn't expected that one but from the looks on everybody else's faces, this attitude was not rare.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – While you were gone part 2

"So, how did you come back to life?" asked Ororo.  
"Like I said Ro, it's complicated." replied Charles, he knew he should give them an explanation but wasn't sure whether it would just add to their already apparent confusion.

Every single person in the room was looking anywhere but the three reincarnated mutants, they were silent whilst waiting for the Professor to continue.

Storm and Hank were trying to keep busy, making teas and coffees for anyone that wanted one hoping that if they kept active then the time for Charles to give them some answers would come sooner; Bobby was sitting on the large armchair with Kitty on his lap whispering words of comfort to one another (they were very confused about the fact that their once dead teachers were now standing in front of them); Jubilee, Remy, Piotr and Warren were in one corner of the room trying not to stare at the three mutants who were now alive where as Rogue, who stood by herself, was watching them warily as well as trying to calm the Charles that was now in her head.

She stared on, watching Jean, Scott and the Professor exchange glances with each other. Rogue could see that whatever had occurred to bring the mutants back was not one they really wanted to discuss and as such, she knew that the X-Men needed to know.

"Come on Charles, I have enough memories from Eric to realise you haven't always been a saint." Rogue exclaimed, "Just tell us, we all need to know what happened if we are going to be living in the same house again, don't you think?"

Charles look dumbfounded due to the girls (no woman's) outburst. "I know I'm not a saint my dear but we do not have to tell _you_ anything. This is my school."

"Oh, I know Charles. I just want to make sure we aren't living with a shape-shifter who has turned themselves into you. I am only being cautious due to the children."

"I understand. I will try to explain as best as I can." The Professor was going to need to be cautious, once they found out about Jean, all hell could break loose.

"That's all we ask." Rogue walked up to the chair next to Charles and perched herself on the end. "Please, begin."

Charles explained that before Alkali Lake he had noticed a difference in Jean and as such knew that when she sacrificed herself that the Phoenix would take over. Once Jean returned from the dead the first time he could see that something catastrophic would happen and that he needed to be prepared.

Before Jean killed him, he had transferred his mind into that of another body – this body was a clone of his own which would mean that it wouldn't take as much time for his mind to adjust. This clone was created just before Alkali Lake.

About four months after Alcatraz, Charles awoke in his cloned body. It took him the rest of the time from then until their return to the school to locate Scott and 'resurrect' Jean. He had then gone and found Scott with the help of his old friend Moira MacTaggert.

It was at this point where Charles began to clam up, he knew that telling the X-Men about Jean could ruin everything but he didn't want his beloved friends to be distrustful towards him.

Jean didn't need the help of the Professor to come back to life – the Phoenix did all that – what she did need help with, was controlling her. When Charles found the Phoenix using his telepathic powers, he located her reforming body in a Hospital in Alberta. The body was not that of the woman whom Logan killed but a replica that had used the last of the Phoenix's energy to be created. As such, the body was in a coma.

The Phoenix needed to replenish her strength which gave the Professor a window of opportunity to try and lock the Phoenix in a box in the recesses of Jean's mind. Charles did this and when Jean woke up one year later, she was once again the Jean everyone once knew and loved. However, the Phoenix was still in her mind and would at a later date, using other telepaths, need to be purged from Jean's mind completely.

So, one year later after the shock arrival and three after Alcatraz came the omen that only Charles and Marie knew about.

Which was why _he_ was coming home!

When Charles had told Rogue about Logan's impending visit she nearly ripped the whole mansion apart – how could Charles just expect her to be okay about this? She was furious, mostly at herself, for letting the hairy and beasty man get to her but she was in love with Logan and thought that she could get over him with time. Unfortuantely, getting over your 'one and done' is a lot harder than people might think and to top it off she could touch now, so it was going to be even harder keeping her hands to herself.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – The return

It was around 11am when she heard it. _That_ sound. The one that haunted her dreams and conjured up fantasies in that mucked up head of hers. It was the rumble of _his_ bike.

Logan was back.

Charles had told her it would be sometime today that the beast returned to them but she wasn't expecting him quite this early. 'Must have been in a hurry.' Rogue thought. 'Probably found out that Jean was alive and wanted to make sure he got a quick fuck – he was never one to waste time.'

Rogue could feel her gut twist and back start to get knots with the anxiety of seeing Logan again after three years. She needed something to take _him_ off her mind.

So, she got up and started shedding her clothes so that she could put her gym wear on – she needed a stress relief and the best was a round in the danger room and a run around the mansion grounds.

She always used this technique when she was in a shitty mood and didn't want to take it out on anyone else or if she was just pissed in general. Rogue had changed over the last three years; she was cold and angry at the world... at everything.

Yes, she had duties to her classes and the X-Men (Charles especially) but it didn't mean that she hurt any less. First she's kicked out of her home, and then she is used as a pawn in Magneto's game, Logan leaves and comes back whenever he wants all the while loving Jean and not her and to top it all off, the cure didn't bloody work and she was left with a maniac in her head.

At least now she can use any of the powers she has absorbed but that's not the point really, is it?

Marie was just about ready for her personal anger management therapy when suddenly her door swung open. Standing there was her best friend Jubilee, she looked like she was going to burst any moment with the news that she had.

"Roguey! He's back. Wolvie's back – can you believe it?" Jubes asked while jumping on Rogue's bed.

"Yeah, I know dim-wit. I heard his bike." Rogue replied as she started to leave her room.

"Where are you going? You not happy about this chica?" The yellow girl asked while following her friend down the corridor, quickly remembering to close the door (Rogue liked her privacy).

"Of course I'm not happy Jubes!" Exclaimed Rogue, "I hate his guts... you and I both know that when he finds out Jean is alive and kicking, he'll be all over her like a moth to a flame. Right now, I can't deal with that."

Jubilee tried to interrupt her friend but it would seem that Marie was having one of her 'Logan rants' and nothing could stop her when she got going on one of those.

"I mean, who does he think he is? Sure, Charles asked him to come back and all but that doesn't give him the right to think I want him back. He... he left me Jubes, he left everyone and he can't just come back and expect me to run into his big arms and say "Yay, you're home!" 'Cos that aint happening! You hear me?"

By the time she had stopped talking her voice had grown very loud and lots of students had come out of their rooms to see the commotion.

"Back up chica, Prof asked Logan back? I thought his return was, well, out of the blue?" Jubilee said, she looked as confused as the rest of the students and Rogue knew that her rant had given off more info than she'd like.

"It's nothing to worry about babe. Yes, Charles did ask him back and yes, I knew. Just don't ask questions that I can't tell you the answers to. Okay?" Jubes nodded but certainly didn't look convinced.

Rogue turned around and strode off to the danger room – she didn't need any more questions or stress right now.

She left the students and Jubilee looking on in wonder as the mighty X-Woman made her way down the corridor and into the elevator. What she didn't know was that a certain Wolverine had seen the whole damn incident take place!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – The return part 2

It felt strange, coming up the long driveway of Xavier's Mansion and turning off the engine of the motorbike – Logan hadn't been there for three years and yet the large building still held its charm.

The gardens were as beautiful as ever (Ro must be looking after them still) and gave the mansion a homely feel while its exterior gave it the look of a professionalism and propriety but Logan knew that inside all the good manners were scrapped. Teenagers with raging hormones _and_ the X-gene could only spell one word: disaster.

The etiquette that the X-Men held was thrown out the window and replaced with swearing, dirty talk and good old banter. Logan was always one to flirt with the ladies and when he first came to the mansion, it had been great to see that blush on Jean's cheeks.

He had fancied Jean; everyone who had testosterone running in their system would be blind not to notice that she was something special. She was hot to trot and had the most fucking perfect legs, so Logan felt flirting with her was easy, plus it pissed ol' One-Eye off no end.

However, it had occurred to him that yes, he liked Jean and at one time would have jumped at the chance to give her a merry fuck but she was in love with Scott and he was never going to compete. Also, he now knew that the only woman for him was Marie.

He parked his (Scott's) bike in its space in the garage and went through the back door of the mansion. The corridor would lead him straight past Marie's room and (if he was lucky) he would find her there and be able to drop a 'hello' before he went to speak to Chuck.

God must not have been on his side today though, because as soon as he came round the corner he heard her... his Marie shouting about something, or more specifically someone, while that Yellow kid is trying to calm her down.

"Of course I'm not happy Jubes!" Exclaimed Rogue, "I hate his guts... you and I both know that when he finds out Jean is alive and kicking, he'll be all over her like a moth to a flame. Right now, I can't deal with that." What was she talking about? Jeannie's alive?

Yellow tried to interrupt Marie but it would seem that my girl was pretty pissed.

"I mean, who does he think he is? Sure, Charles asked him to come back and all but that doesn't give him the right to think I want him back." Was she talking about me? "He... he left me Jubes, he left everyone and he can't just come back and expect me to run into his big arms and say "Yay, you're home!" 'Cos that aint happening! You hear me?"

Wow, she must be annoyed. Half the kids are out here gawking at her.

"Back up chica, Prof asked Logan back? I thought his return was, well, out of the blue?" Yellow said, she looked as confused as the rest of the students. Rogue knew his return and about this 'emergency' and no one else did? What the hell?

"It's nothing to worry about babe. Yes, Charles did ask him back and yes, I knew. Just don't ask questions that I can't tell you the answers to. Okay?" Yellow nodded but looked pretty annoyed.

Marie left after that, probably to cool off in the gardens or something. Well, I hope so anyway.

On another note: Jean is alive! I mean what the actual fuck? As well as that, Marie knows about this...this 'thing' that's going on! God, I need to find Chuck.

So Logan roamed the rest of the halls, trying to avoid everyone and anyone while making his way to Charles' office.

Before Logan could knock he heard a faint "Come in" from inside the Professor's office.

"Ahh, Logan my dear boy. Please come in, have a seat. I will just finish this last page." Charles quickly finished reading the book while Logan took the seat opposite the wheel-chaired man. "I thought you'd be here later." Charles said as he laid his book down.

"As soon as you gave me that call Chuck, I knew I was needed." Logan replied, looking rather uncomfortable in front of the man. "What...what happened while I was gone? Is Jeannie alive and what the hell happened to Marie?"

"Yes, Jean is alive and when it comes to Rogue...it's rather a long story." Charles knew Logan was dumbfounded about the news that Jean is alive – he'd heard Rogue's diatribe about Logan as she had projected quite violently (unusual for her) – and he knew that Logan needed answers. "How about I start at the beginning?" Logan just nodded.

The Professor told Logan about how he, Jean and Scott came to be alive. How Scott never died, and how he transferred his powers into the duplicate of himself as well as, how Jean 'rose' from the dead a second time.

He also told him that Jean still had the Phoenix inside her mind and that, even though it took a little while for the rest of the X-Men to trust her, they now knew that everyone would be safe until it was time to purge the creature from Jean's inner conscience.

Over the last year, the X-Men had been working towards creating public relations between mutants and humans.

Hank was still working with politicians to gain their support when the vote on the 'Mutants Registration Act' came into play while Scott had an assembled team that was ready and waiting for Logan's return.

"So, what the hell happened to Marie?" Logan exclaimed.

"Are you sure you want to know Logan?" Logan nodded mutely. "Fine, first off, you need to know that she's different – angry, frustrated, hurt, resentful – I could think of any number of adjectives to describe her. But the best word is: betrayed."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – The modern Medusa

"Before I came back to the school, Rogue had a few problems." Charles stated carefully. He didn't want to upset the Wolverine.

"What sort of problems, Chuck?" Logan demanded, getting up out of his seat.

"Logan, sit." Commanded Charles.

"Sorry, Wheels."

"No, I understand that you care for her. We all do." Charles eyed Logan warily. He knew of the radical realisation Logan had come to about Rogue. "She completely absorbed a woman, killed her Logan." Logan's sucked in breath was the only noise that could be heard in the office.

"Carry on Charles, please."

"Her name was Carol Danvers or Miss Marvel to us in the mutant community, it happened about six months after Alcatraz. Rogue hadn't known that the cure was wearing off and Carol was the X-Men's newest member. Marie helped Carol and they became close but unfortunately there was an incident in the danger room."

"What sort of incident?" Logan was on the edge of his seat, trying to calm down his fuming temper. Why was _he_ not informed of this 'incident'?

"Rogue was still training with the X-men, as you know her hand-to-hand combat is some of the best anyone in the institute has ever seen. All of the X-Men (including Rogue and Miss Marvel) were in the danger room completing one of the hardest simulations there is and well... something happened."

"What happened? I need to know!" Logan was pacing now; he needed to know what happened to his Marie.

"Miss Marvel had the abilities of flight, super strength and invulnerability. Rogue needed a boost onto the top of one of the buildings so she asked Miss Marvel if she could take her up there. Miss Marvel held onto Rogue's un-gloved hand and halfway between the ground and the rooftop, Marie's powers activated. Rogue couldn't stop how quick the absorption was."

"So, Marie has this woman in her head?" Questioned Logan.

"Yes and for three months Rogue and Miss Marvel had a battle in Marie's head and finally Marie won. She retained the abilities of Miss Marvel, as well as her and Carol coming to a sort of agreement." Charles said proudly. "She is a very powerful mutant, there were no telepaths at the time and she still managed to lock Carol away."

"Wow, anything else happen?" Logan chuckled; he believed that Carol was the end of the story. However, from the Professor's grim expression this was not all that happened to the young girl.

"Yes Logan, after absorbing Carol, Marie found out that she could use every other mutation she had ever taken." Charles' stoic expression sent shivers down Logan's back, why was he so upset?

"What exactly does that mean Prof?" Logan asked.

"Well, firstly, we thought the Phoenix was powerful but after testing Rogue's blood and analysing it, we can see that she is probably the strongest mutant that has ever lived – and I'm not talking brute strength. Hank believes that when it comes to classing Rogue, you can't. She's off the scale Logan and that means she is dangerous: very dangerous."

Logan was silent for a few moments; he was trying to process the information. "How dangerous?"

"She could kill everyone in this mansion with one thought." Charles stated matter of factly. "She's the modern Medusa, one look and anyone in the institute stands still – afraid one wrong move will have them in the med lab."

"So, what powers does she have?"

"Obviously Carol's, magnetism from Eric, Bobby's powers (there are too many to list), pyrokenisis from John, Piotr's powers as well as my powers. She accidently touched me when I, Jean and Scott first came back to the mansion."

"What...what about my mutation?" Logan was worried his Marie would have to live through watching everyone she loved die. It wasn't fun.

"Yes, she has your feral senses and can release her own set of bone claws but she doesn't like the claws that much." Charles smiled at the memory of Rogue having a hissy-fit about her claws.

"What about-"Logan started but Charles cut him off. "Yes, she has your healing ability and she is absolutely fine with it. I have had many sessions with her about her state of mind – she is doing well Logan."

"Okay, okay. So, she went crazy for three months, possibly is the most powerful mutant in the world and she has _a lot_ of powers. Anything else?" Logan hoped there wasn't.

"She can touch now, once I came back to the mansion we worked on her meditation and she found the switch. Also, she is the leader of the X-Men now, just so you are aware." Charles went back to his book as he believed that Logan would want to digest all this new information but Logan had other ideas.

"That's great, but what I don't get is why she is the only person other than you that knew I was coming back and that it wasn't 'out of the blue' as many have called it." Logan was persistent alright.

Charles once again put his book down. "I've been having premonitions for the last four months, all about the end of the world as we know it. The only other people I could tell had to be telepaths – it would injure others if I tried to show them through a mental link – so I knew that it was between Rogue and Jean. As you now know, Jean is still vulnerable so it _had_ to be Marie."

"No one else knows?" Logan asked.

"No, and they won't until the time is right. Logan I need you here so that when I send Rogue on missions to gather information we still have a second in command. Scott is too busy helping Jean to hold the responsibility and I can't force Ro to take on the roll when I know she and Hank are trying for a child – it _has_ to be you."

"Missions on her own? Is that a good idea? I mean sure Chuck I'll look after the X-geeks, but are you sure Marie will be okay with that (she hates me at the moment) and is she okay to go on her own to these dodgy places you will be sending her to."

"She doesn't hate you, she just feels betrayed. Oh and she is very capable of going on her own but I can't risk letting anyone else know about this – it's too dangerous."

"Okay, but if anything, I mean anything, happens to her or even one hair on that perfect head of hers is out of place...I will do some serious damage to your precious mansion." Logan growled.

"I understand but nothing will happen." Charles said calmly.

Logan got up off his seat and as he opened the door he heard Charles. "Oh and Logan?" Logan looked around, "Never threaten me in my own home again."

Logan left the office and laughed all the way down the hall, Wheels always had to have the last word. Unbelievable!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – What the hell?

Logan had to digest all this revealing information about Rogue given to him by Charles and he really wanted to go and see Marie to make sure she was okay with him being here as well as him knowing all about her powers and such.

He knew that going to see Marie probably wouldn't be the best idea but he wanted her own opinion on how the last three years have been for her and he needed to know whether what he saw in the hallway earlier that morning was a spare of the moment thing or because she actually hates him.

Logan walked through the corridors back towards Rogue's bedroom.

Along the way, lots of the students were staring at him and whispering when his back was to them. Probably all the rumors, Logan mused.

When Logan got to Marie's bedroom he could hear giggling and people talking. Logan being Logan naturally assumed _his_ Marie was in the room with a man – how wrong he was. Logan burst through the door to find Jubilee shacked up with 'de Remy' in Jubes' bed.

"What the fuck are you doing in Rogue's room Yellow? And with this... who the fuck is he?" Shouted Logan, he was seething. Who do they think they are? And in my Marie's room!

Jubilee stood up, wrapping the sheet around her to make sure her modesty was still intact. Jubilee was more than furious with the wolverine, angrily she said, "This is mine _and_ Rougey's room, when she's in the D.R. Room we have an agreement that Remy and I can have the space to ourselves Wolvie. So would you mind leaving us to it?"

Jubilee could tell Logan's nose was put out of joint from the fact that he didn't know she shared a room with Rogue. Logan replied rather sheepishly, "Right, sorry. Do you know where I can find her then?"

"I did just say that when she's in the D.R Room, Remy have the room to _ourselves._" Jubilee replied impatiently.

"Oh, of course. Sorry again." Logan started backing out of the room when he heard Yellow say, "Be careful, she likes her privacy."

What the hell did that mean? She likes her privacy. Most people did, Logan scoffed inwardly. Ha, you can't get privacy in a place like this.

Logan took the elevator down to the lower levels of the X-Mansion where the med lab, D.R Room and conference room were situated.

He could smell that Marie was here, her scent hadn't changed at all, still that chestnut and vanilla mix plus the intoxicating deeper undertone that was pure Marie. However, he couldn't sense the happy and joyful Marie he once knew; she was clouded with anger, sadness and self-loathing?

He could also smell that Charles was down here on the observation deck.

Logan was greeted with a sad smile from Charles when he came through the doors of the observation deck. He noticed the Professor's hands were clenched into a tight fist. A lot of stress perhaps?

He looked at the control panel, Rogue was on the hardest level there was in the Danger Room. She was battling with, was that, no it couldn't be... the Phoenix!

The scene in front of him was exactly the same as Alcatraz but instead of Logan going after Jean, it was Marie. She was using all the powers she had ever accumulated over the years including her skin – she was impressive and Logan could see why the Professor thought she was dangerous.

Dodging the flying objects or stopping them with her telepathy and magnetism powers; punching the lights out of any mutant who got in her way using her super strength and hand-to-hand combat skills; helping out her teammates and putting herself in the danger zone so that no one else got hurt. Marie was the best fighter Logan had _ever _seen.

She went up behind Mystique and broke her neck with one swift movement making a terrible crunching noise that sent shivers down both Logan and Charles' backs; then she went over to Magneto and using her own mutation, sucked him dry and finally, she went over to Jean and gave her one last pleading look before she knocked her out and metaphorically took her back to the Blackbird.

Suddenly the simulation ended.

Marie was definitely different; Logan could see that clear as day. She was ruthless, didn't flinch when she killed someone but she still cared. She would put herself in front of her teammates so they wouldn't get injured, rescue civilians even if they had been against her and she didn't kill Jean. But she was still different.

"Why did she do that simulation?" Logan asked Charles.

"She does it all the time, she wishes she could have been there so you didn't have to kill Jean. She blames herself for a lot of what happened that night and she does this simulation to try and find a way we could have saved Jean."

"But Jean's okay now, right?"

"Yes, she is but Rogue believes that if Jean had never died and you would have never left and as such she wouldn't have ended up like this." Charles turned towards Logan, "She hates herself, I'm sure you can smell the self-loathing coming off her?"

"Well, yeah. But why does she hate herself? She's perfect." Logan was confused and worried about Marie.

"Rogue knows she is dangerous and wishes that she wasn't so. Yes, she has a duty to the X-Men now and of course she has been helping me lately but she is still upset about what happened after Alcatraz. I believe she thinks she will turn into Jean and again, you will have to kill someone who is a good friend. She's worried about _you_ Logan, not herself. She hates that she has put all of us in a difficult position should anything like what happened to Jean, happen to her. She knows none of us could really kill her, Rogue has your powers and that means she would be even more deadly than the Phoenix." Charles spoke gravely about the woman who he thought of as a daughter.

"Fuck." Logan shouted and he started pacing in the little room while muttering some inaudible comments to himself (probably a lot of swear words).

Then, suddenly, the door slammed opened and in came a seething Rogue who had obviously just had a shower and heard the last of Logan and Charles' conversation!


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: I am soooooo sorry for the delay! I have been super busy so here's the next chapter!_

Chapter 8 – Not mine anymore

How could he? I understand that Charles is worried about me and I know I'm volatile but how dare he! How dare he tell that son of a bitch about how_ I_ feel when I don't even know myself.

"It's nice to see that you have given Logan the lowdown on my life, Charles." Rouge said in a menacingly low voice. Both men could tell by her stance that she wasn't happy and that a wrong move could end in a dangerous outburst from the young woman.

"I'm sorry my dear, I didn't see you standing there. I hope I didn't offend you, Marie." Charles replied, trying to keep the atmosphere neutral as he could see a staring contest going on between Logan and Rogue.

Rogue looked away from Logan, astounded by what she had heard. "Offended? Me? Never! You know it takes a lot more than a few words to make me upset, Charles. No, the reason I'm so fucking pissed off is that I'll need at least another three or four D.R sessions today because of the asshole standing next to you."

The surprise of the comment was evident on both Logan and Charles' faces and could be seen by Marie. The little smirk she wore was the only evidence that her words had had the desired effect.

Logan was shocked beyond reason, "Excuse me? It's my fault you're pissed, what the hell did I do?"

"Your mere presence fucks me off. I know it's necessary within the mansion and the lower levels because of our situation but Jubilee did tell you I like my privacy and, as usual, you did what Logan wanted instead of thinking about what someone else wanted. You'll never change." Rogue didn't rise to shouting at him, not yet anyway, as she needed a cool head to teach her first class in less than half an hour.

"How the hell do you know what Jubilee said to me?" As soon as the question came out Logan regretted it. Of course she knew, telepathy powers meant she could read minds and she had probably heard Jubilee's inner shouting when Logan had walked in on her and Remy in the girls shared bedroom.

This time, however, Rogue did shout, "I have telepathy now, Logan, and a lot more, as you probably saw. I have so much in my fucked up brain from the people I've touched _and_ everyone's thoughts that I like it down here on my _own_. And no, Charles doesn't count. So why don't you get the fuck out of here before you piss me off some more. I don't like you Logan – in fact I hate you – but I will work with you for the greater good. I don't want to see you unless there is a meeting, a briefing or a life threatening problem, I don't want to hear your snarky comments about how you want to fuck Jean just to piss ol' One Eye off because the children here are scarred enough and I don't want to hear your excuses." Suddenly, in a voice no louder than a whisper and so cold it nearly froze Logan's heart, "And whatever you do, don't try to ask for my forgiveness for what you did because I will never ever forgive you for what you made me become."

And with that Rogue turned around and swiftly made her way out of the observation deck.

Both men were stunned into silence. Charles hadn't ever seen her say that many words to anyone since he came back and Logan, well he just couldn't believe that _his_ Marie wasn't really his anymore.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – You are beautiful people

"It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world... Does anyone have anything to say about this?" Asked Marie to her classroom full of students.

Marie could definitely see the reality in the quote; her life had been changed dramatically because of decisions that had been made without her prior knowledge or her opinion in the discussion.

Her life had always been difficult growing up in the South, with her God-loving parents wishing for her to be the perfect daughter even though they knew it was an impossible task. Then finding out she was a mutant, a decision she wouldn't have agreed to if she could have spoken to her maker, as well as becoming a pawn within a game of chess that she simply didn't want to be a part of.

Marie sometimes wondered if all of what had happened to her would have come true if she had just stayed in Laughlin City instead of hitching a ride with 'The Wolverine'. Her life was completely and utterly changed because of that decision. Because of that decision, she had met and fallen in love with a man who looks three times her age and is probably old enough to be her grandfather's grandfather's grandfather's best friend.

"I don't like the thought that any one of my decisions could be the reason I'm successful or not successful, I fall in love with one person or another, I die in a horrible car crash or keep living until I'm 75." One of Marie's students exclaimed to the rest of the class.

"Why do you feel like that?" Questioned Marie.

"My life is not pre-determined, I don't think. I hope that I make decisions because they are right for me, not because they may give me a better choice in the future."

Marie loved teaching philosophy and ethics. The discussions were always enthralling and they always lead to her rethinking everything in her life.

Marie began speaking to her class, without realising that a certain feral man was watching her from the door. "I see what you mean. I don't think I'd like to believe that someone, or something, has allowed me to live the life I have lived.

My life, at many points, has been amazing. I have been loved, loved someone, felt the wind in my hair, eaten some darn good food and made friends for life. I have experienced the sun rising and setting on a beautiful spring day, watching as new lambs are born into our world.

But if my life was pre-destined, if it was given to me by an omnibenevolent being or if I deserve it because of previous sins... then I must have been an evil person in a previous life. I have watched as people I care about have suffered great loss, I have watched children torn apart from their families because of one simple genetic mutation that makes us different.

Life is a bitch. Life is a bastard. Everyone wants that amazing life. To find Mr Right or Mrs Perfect and have 2.4 kinds and white picket fence. But life isn't like that. Life is hard and it makes you cry, and bleed and cry all over again. But you all have a chance to have a brilliant life, don't let being a mutant stop you from reaching your dreams and meeting those aspirations.

When life gets ugly and shits on you from a great height, fuck it right back. Because. You. Are. All. Beautiful. People."

Logan couldn't really believe that everyone was 'beautiful' but he certainly thought Marie was.


End file.
